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Amani Hamed on February 16, 2022
Last month, the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles celebrated its 45th anniversary. New Directions, the new exhibit created to mark the occasion, utilizes pieces from the museum’s archives as well as newly created works of art, and finally opened last week after an Omicron-related delay.
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Elliott Sky Case on February 16, 2022
Now in its tenth year, San Jose Jazz’s Winter Fest is currently in full crescendo, and Chicago-born trumpeter Marquis Hill arrives right in the middle on the West Coast tour for his upcoming album, New Gospel Revisited. His 2020 release Soul Sign took listeners on a genre-transcending cosmic voyage, with each song on the tape corresponding to the signs of the zodiac, collaborating with astrologers on spoken word pieces over celestial beats. Hill performs at the Break Room with his longtime crew The Blacktet: drummer Kendrick Scott, keyboard player Jahari Stampley and bassist Joshua Crumbly.
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Alec Adams on February 16, 2022
When it comes to naming heavy bands, the economy of words allows for no inflation. If you must use a second word in your name, make it count. Wolf King got this right: the band name itself is as heavy as a semi-truck dropped on a rib cage. Their riffs are more massive still, deftly blending hardcore breakdowns with black metal shredding. They come to Cupertino touring their 2021 album The Path of Wrath along with melodic screamo act Frail Body and Memphis death metal outfit Knoll. These bands are in town with one mission: to crush audiences underneath the weight of Huge Tone in the pits this Sunday.
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Addie Mahmassani on February 16, 2022
Born in 2013 in eastside San Jose, 7th Street Big Band features a jubilant crew of local musicians with drummer Gabby Horlick at the helm. Though the band takes inspiration from the jazz orchestras that ruled popular music in the 1940s, they are, in their own words, “not your grandma’s big band.” Funky basslines, swinging beats and a glorious horn section make a night with this musical family unforgettably fun. With a new EP slated for release this year, they return to their favorite San Jose venue, Art Boutiki, this Sunday.
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Jay Edgar on February 16, 2022
Forget Smash Mouth, forget the Doobie Brothers: Los Tigres Del Norte are the biggest band from San Jose. With a discography spanning seven decades and sold-out arena tour after sold-out arena tour, the legendary Norteño group runs away with the title. The band is especially known for their left-wing political corridos, many of which have been censored by Mexican authorities. Their political activism has led them to lend support to a variety of causes, collaborate with Rage Against the Machine’s Zach de la Rocha and become the first artist since Johnny Cash to play at Folsom Prison.
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Jay Edgar on February 16, 2022
Masters of crunk are coming through the homeland of hyphy. As ougthies nostalgia reaches new peaks, it makes sense to check in on the Ying Yang Twins, whose string of club and radio hits like “Whistle While You Twurk” and “Salt Shaker,” as well as their collaborations with Lil Jon and Britney Spears, helped put the Dirty South on the map for a generation of pop audiences. While trap has overtaken it in the contemporary Southern Hip Hop scene, the big synth grooves and call-and-response rapping of crunk are perfect for a nostalgic night of partying at the club.
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Elliott Sky Case on February 16, 2022
From synthesizer to shakuhachi (a bamboo flute dating back to the 7th century), multi-instrumentalist and composer Keiko Matsui has chased New Age and jazz into dreamy new realms over the last four decades. With over 20 solo studio albums since leaving from her ‘80s group Cosmos, Matsui’s prolific discography contains myriad global influences. Her 2019 album Echo featured the likes of bassist Marcus Miller (a collaborator of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Luther Vandross) and Grammy-nominated singer Gretchen Parlato. Matsui brings her ethereal melodies to uplift and inspire audiences at Montalvo Arts’ Carriage-House Theater.
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Beibei Xu on February 16, 2022
NorCal-based EDM artist FOOLiE has been gaining momentum since recent heaters like “My Body” on Box of Cats Records and the entrancing “Bass Drum” on Paris-based dance label Basement Leak. His latest EP Low Blip marks a return to NY record label House of Hustle and features inviting drumbeats and rhythmic vocals that could get anyone to shake and vibe out on the dance floor. Famed for the twists, turns and bumps of his music, the artist comes to LVL 44 to ignite the dancefloor with his grooves on Thursday.
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Grace Stetson on February 16, 2022
Good things come to those who wait. Originally scheduled to perform in 2020, Ricardo Montaner takes the stage at the San Jose Civic this Thursday. The Argentine-Venezuelan singer-songwriter is best known for his timeless Spanish-language ballads, songs of pining love like “Me Va a Extrañar” and “Dejame Llorar,” and the recent “La Gloria de Dios,” a duet with his daughter. Since starting out nearly 50 years ago, Montaner has released more than 20 albums, sold over 100 million records around the globe and won a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award—who knows what he’s got up his sleeve for San Jose.
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Alec Adams on February 16, 2022
While helpful for listeners, the names we use to sort music into genres are often restrictive to the artists themselves. “It’s kind of maddening,” says Tiffany Austin, whose work has varied from R&B to jazz to gospel. “How can you divide the music that comes from the same diaspora, the same spirit?” Austin walks the walk when it comes to defying genre conventions. Her early success came with funk outfit Orgone, but her solo work—most recently, 2018’s spirited Unbroken—is unfettered by anyone’s classifications. Austin brings her singular self to San Jose Jazz’s Winter Fest this weekend with a backing band ready to dazzle.
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